It'll Come
by SilverAndFlames
Summary: Sequel to People in Glass Houses    Pete and Myka's new relationship is struggling. Claudia's having nightmares about her past. And there's an artefact setting fire to teenagers in Vermont...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Bit of a slow start but will get more interesting, honest.

Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13- seriously!

**Chapter One: "Co-inci-dink..."**

'Claudia can I ask you a question?' Myka was sat on the edge of a desk in Artie's office watching the younger girl typing furiously.

'Just did...' The girl with a bright blue streak in her curled hair said as she glanced up before carrying on typing.

'Okaaaay... Claudia... Can I ask you another question?'

'Just did.'

Myka sighed and looking at the typing girl, realising she wasn't really listening and leaned over the computer and said threateningly- 'What happens if I pull this power cord?'

'Right. Not that kind of mood, get it sorry!' Claudia stopped typing and starred at the woman dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt: there was a steely glint in her eye. Claudia held up her hands in a begging position. 'Please don't. My last English-literature essay goes byebye and if I have to do the course again I'm gonna have to join it!'

'Fine. Sorry... You're nearly done?' Myka lowered the cable and sighed. Her voice had lost its scary edge now too.

'Yeah, just 1,000 words to go.' Claudia answered and nodded slowly whilst studying Myka's face.

'What's your subject this time?' The young girl had been studying at South Dakota in a combination of online and on campus courses for a few months. Her major was something Myka didn't understand to do with computers... but her electives, English Lit in particular, seem to give the 20year old more trouble.

'Comparison of 19th century American authors...' She bit her lip, still studying Myka's face. 'Erm... Myka?'

'Yeah?'

'Question? Ask it?'

'Oh!' Myka's face flushed slightly and she seemed to stiffen. 'I was just thinking, wondering really... What's the longest you've gone in a relationship before...' She trailed off.

'Before what? Before ruining it horribly? Before they have to be relocated to another state?'

'Right. Yeah, you know it's a silly idea.' Myka stood up and began walking across Artie's office. She turned back to the confused Claudia but then shook her head and turned again. Something in the hesitation made a bell ring in Claudia's mind.

'Myka? Were just gonna ask me a sex question?'

The older agent froze and turned again- back to face her. Wrinkling her nose and shaking her head of curls Myka backed into a desk.

'You were!' Claudia sounded shocked, 'What's going on?'

'Nothing! I mean...'

'Are you and Pete having a problem? Is it not? I mean not that I like thinking about it but...' The younger girl trailed off pulling a disturbed face.

'No! Claudia it's not that it's bad... I mean it's Pete... I'm sure it would be amazing...'

'Right. I can't imagine- not that I imagine Pete!' The disturbed look was back. 'But- hold on! Did you just say 'would be' have you not... done it?' Claudia met Myka's eyes, who in response shrugged weakly.

(###)

'Artie! Hey! Ho! How are you?' Pete said thumping the edge of the step ladder Artie was stood on.

'Pete. What is it?' The older man stared down at the agent over the rim of his glasses with an intense expression. The two of them were in the neutraliser tent sorting some of the Warehouse 2 artefacts.

'I was just thinking- how often do you and I talk? I mean really talk?'

'Far more than necessary I would think.'

'Ha... that's funny...' Pete watched his boss climb down from the ladder and being moving to next Warehouse 2 item that needed sorting. He tried a variety of phrases out in his head and finally blurted- 'I need your advice.'

'What have you touched now?' Artie froze.

'What? No! Nothing?'

'Moved then? Licked?'

'No! It's about Myka.'

'Oh- thank God. Wait- Myka, no no.' Artie snapped off his purple gloves and began heading away from Pete. Unfortunately for Artie, Pete followed him.

'Artie come on! Who else can I ask this stuff?'

'I don't know- someone else seems preferable though.'

'Dude! I need your wisdom here.'

'You. Need my...'

'Wisdom yeah.' They had come to a stop at the edge of the neutraliser bubble. Artie nodded briefly. Pete rocked back on heels and punched the air. 'Thank you!'

'Hmmm...'

'Look... is weird for two people who love each other and see each other a lot... not to have... well we haven't actually-'

'Whoa! Pete if you're having... personal issues then a doctor maybe more appropriate...'

'No! Little Pete's fine! More than fine actually- I'll show you!' Pete's hands moved to his belt but were stilled by Artie's grip on his arm.

'Not necessary. So. Not. Necessary.'

'Artie, we haven't had sex.'

'Pete I'm not comfortable talking about your personal life...' Artie looked deeply uncomfortable.

'Come on man... please!'

'Well... you haven't been together for that long...'

'Six weeks, Artie. And we see each other **every day.**'

'I...' Artie was interrupted by the sound of the Farnsworth. 'Thank goodness.'

(###)

A while later the four agents were collected in the office. All four of them seemed slightly uncomfortable. On the computer screen was a picture of a burnt apartment.

'Are we sure this isn't just arson?' Myka asked to break the awkward quiet. Things between her and Pete were fine... well, apart from every time they were close and not just in that way things got awkward. One or the other of them would freeze and start babbling. The night before, they hadn't even been able to sit and watch a movie together.

'Six 17 years have spontaneously combusted in a four mile radius... All of them in the middle of... well-' Artie paused the self-conscious look was back. 'Let's just say they were in the middle.'

'Brings a whole new mean to 'sex on fire' doesn't it?' Pete said.

'Yes well.' Artie's voice was mildly disapproving. 'The thing the three couples have in common is that they're all involved with this woman.' He hit a key and the picture of a young woman in her mid twenties appeared. She was sandy haired and brown eyed.

'So, who is she? Local sex-ed teacher?'

'Quite the opposite. She runs several abstinence education programmes in the local area.'

'Huh. Co-inci-dink!' Claudia said looking at Myka and grinning. 'An artefact which is all "physical" coming along just when you two can't...' Myka pulled a face and shook her head, too late.

'You told Claudia!' Pete's voice was brittle.

'You told Artie!' Myka responded.

'Well- you told Claudia. We're even.'

'Pete- you told **Artie!**'

Pete's response was to wince slightly and shrug.

'Hey! Children! Artie would quite like to forget having been told. So please. Go to Vermont- find the artefact and talk it over. Far. Far. Away from me.' With that Artie handed them both folders and walked away barely suppressing a shudder.

Myka and Pete exchanged a tiny bright smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading and for all the alerts! I hope you enjoy this chapter- please leave me a review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13... sadly!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two: "Hinky"<strong>

'You told Artie.' It was a hiss Pete had learnt to associate with trouble long before he and Myka had gotten to together.

'You told Claudia...' And that was wheedling tone that Myka had learnt to recognise within weeks of meeting him.

They were fifteen minutes into the flight to Vermont and the awkwardness from the Warehouse had followed them. The journey to the airport and all of the check in had been filled with some mundane chat regarding the case. And whilst Pete had been glad not to argue; Myka, apparently, had simply been biding her time.

'They are not the same thing. Artie is not Claudia.'

'Your college education certainly paid off.' Pete said sardonically.

'Appose to yours which lets you think that it's okay to talk about our personal life with **our boss!**'

Pete couldn't help but smile at Myka's outraged expression. She was still beautiful, dark hair lose around her face and her eyes blazing. They had spent the last six weeks trying to muddle through creating a relationship out of a partnership. A romance out of a friendship... Without making things between them weird. Or weirder really.

'Look maybe Artie wasn't the best choice-' Myka snorted. 'But you've got to admit things between us aren't right.'

There was silence from Myka. Pete watched her; she was gazing out of the plane window watching clouds blow past. For a moment her face softened and she unexpectedly seemed vulnerable somehow. He felt his chest tighten. Despite having to navigate some murky water over the last six weeks the way Pete felt about Myka hadn't changed. She was still his best friend. He was still in love with her.

'Myks?'

'Pete.' She turned her eyes from the passing sky to her partner. She felt a familiar pull of butterflies in her chest as she remembered he wasn't just her partner anymore. 'I'm sorry, you're right things aren't brilliant. But it's not that I have cold feet or anything.'

'Me neither. Okay? I want this.' He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Myka's forehead.

'Maybe...' Myka shifted in her seat to face him. There was the look in her eye that meant she'd thought of something. 'Maybe... this is just something we have to figure out. We're a pretty good team. We work on tougher things than this every day. Let's just treat it like a case?'

'Yeah. That could work. Logical rational thinking.' Pete nodded grinning. Then a thought struck him. 'No artefact though, right?'

There was a pause both agents looked a little disconnected as they raced through a list of possibilities... At the same time the couple shook their heads.

'No artefact.' They shared a relieved sigh.

'So...' Pete blew out his cheeks at Myka. 'We haven't...'

'No. But we want to... right?'

'Of course! Come on Myks! Look at you I mean hot-...' Pete paused as the stewardess walked past. He lowered his voice and said- 'I want to.'

'Me too.' Myka dipped her head letting her dark curls hide her flush. Her partner watched her for a moment before reaching out and lifting her chin.

'It's not just about that though Myks. Things between us- something is just hinky. It's that I don't like.'

'Yeah... I mean sex isn't that important, some couples never have sex.' Myka saw the expression Pete tried to hide. 'I'm not suggesting it.'

'Phew!'

'It's just even if we were... doing that... I not sure... I still think something would be-'

'Hinky.'

'Yeah.' Myka leant her head onto Pete's shoulder. There was a small sigh from both of them. The plane seemed to fill up with the unspoken words.

Six weeks of muddling a partnership, friendship and long hidden emotions into a relationship... Six weeks of working out how to live in the same house, work in the same job, be in the same relationship without going insane. Yet it had felt easy. Natural even. For the first few weeks at least. Then they'd discovered the problem.

The problem as Myka thought of it seemed to sneak up on them in their quiet time together. Fooling around suddenly started to feel weird and unnatural. Watching a movie became uncomfortable. Even going for a walk turned into an argument. For no reason and they were always the sort of pointless arguments that really have no beginning, come to no specific end and have no actual substance.

Arguing with Pete used to be fun. Now with her head resting on his should as they flew into the evening the idea terrified her.

(###)

Claudia jerked awake. Where was she? What's going on? Her heart was thundering and there was a stabbing pain in her back of her head. As she straightened her neck, wincing at the clicks the young woman glanced around her. She was in Artie's office. The lights were dim across the Warehouse and her computer was sleeping itself.

'Working full time and doing college... not good idea.' She muttered forcing herself to stand up. A dark green tartan blanket slid from her shoulders: that must have been Artie.

There was the salty residue of tears on her cheeks. Ever since she'd been into Fargo's stupid computer game Claudia had been having nightmares about the institution. It made her miss Steve... she was so comfortable talking to Pete and Myka but somehow Jinks was easier to tell things to. Especially things like that... to do with that.

Pushing her hair back from her face, Claudia saw her English notes. Groaning she leaned over the computer and checked the progress of her essay. As the machine whirred into life she noticed the note from Artie- "Hey, Whizz-kid- get some actual rest! A"

The Whizz-kid's smile froze as, opening up her essay, she read the last few lines written. Glancing behind her, she suppressed a shudder. Frantically she deleted the sentences. Her thoughts were just as frantic... She knew that there were several programmes she could run to find out when those words had been written. Claudia couldn't remember how to use any of them.

Managing to remember how to get out of the essay, she hit the save button. The screen died. A second later it resurrected itself and slowly wrote out in blue letters the sentences she had painstakingly removed seconds earlier.

It was only early evening but suddenly the Warehouse felt dark. Computers were Claudia's safe place. Being a tech-y was her identity- her proudest moments were almost all hacking related. There was nothing a computer could do to scare her.

Or rather there had been nothing a computer could do to scare her.

Normally she knew every noise but now each little bleep or groan of metal cooling was hugely loud and chilling. Moving away from the computer, Claudia realised she had to get out. Turning and pulling on her jacket she ran out to the umbilical.

By the car she threw up.

Driving to the B and B she realised she was shaking violently enough to cause several near misses with street signs and mail boxes.

At Leena's, safely inside her room with both computers turned off and unplugged, Claudia felt herself relax.


End file.
